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The First Day Of Winter 2024: Winter Solstice

When is the Winter Solstice?

The winter solstice, which marks the first day of winter 2024, occurs on Thursday, December 21, 2024 at 4:21 a.m. EST. (for the Northern Hemisphere). Learn what causes this change in seasons and winter solstice traditions from around the world.

What Is Winter Solstice?

Winter solstice is the astronomical moment when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn, we have our shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of daylight. Regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice marks the official start of winter.

Curious what kind of weather to expect on the first day of winter 2024 and beyond?

See the Farmers’ Almanac winter forecast

The first day of winter.
 Regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice marks the first day of winter. 

What Does “Solstice” Mean?

The term “solstice” comes from the Latin words sol (Sun) and sistere (to stand still) because, during the solstice, the angle between the Sun’s rays and the plane of the Earth’s equator (called declination) appears to stand still.

So what does that mean, exactly? Upon the winter solstice, the Sun appears at its lowest in the sky, and its noontime elevation seems to stay the same for several days before and after this day. The Sun’s gradual decrease in the sky reverses upon the winter solstice, marking what many cultures believe to be a “rebirth” of the Sun as the hours of daylight become longer.

Winter Solstice America Chart
A map demonstrating the first day of winter.

Essentially, daylight hours (the period of time between sunrise and sunset each day) have been growing slightly shorter each day since the summer solstice last June, which is the longest day of the year (at least in terms of light). December 21 marks the start of when days will begin to grow longer. They will continue to do so until we reach the summer solstice again in June. Then the cycle will begin anew.

While we celebrate the winter solstice, those living in the Southern Hemisphere will be simultaneously marking the arrival of summer. That’s because while our half of the globe is inclined away from the Sun, their half is inclined toward it. Being tilted away from the Sun brings us shorter days and colder temperatures.

Stonehenge under a cloudy sky with sun shining behind it represents winter solstice traditions.
Historians believe Stonehenge in England was erected to keep track of the Sun’s yearly progress.

Early man kept track of the days by observing the Sun as it “moved” across the sky and cast shadows during the day and at different times of the year.  In fact, historians believe Stonehenge in England was erected to keep track of the Sun’s yearly progress.

Winter Solstice Traditions: Folklore and Celebrations

Looking for unique ways to celebrate the first day of winter 2024? Here are some traditions from around the world …

The Winter Solstice has played an important role in cultures worldwide from ancient times until today. In fact, many of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with Christmas are actually associated with winter solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. Here are some examples:

Alban Arthan

Newgrange Stone Age Passage Tomb in Ireland.

Welsh for “Light of Winter,” Alban Arthan is a universal festival, which has been (and still is) celebrated by many people and is probably the oldest seasonal festival of humankind. In Druidic traditions, the Winter Solstice is thought of as a time of death and rebirth when Nature’s powers and our own souls are renewed. It marks the moment in time when the Old Sun dies (at dusk on the 21st of December) and when the Sun of the New Year is born (at dawn on the 22nd of December), framing the longest night of the year. The birth of the New Sun is thought to revive the Earth’s aura in mystical ways, giving a new lease on life to spirits and souls of the dead.

The prehistoric monument, Newgrange built in Ireland around 3200 B.C. (making it older than Stonehenge), is associated with the Alban Arthan festival. The site consists of a large circular mound with a stone passageway and interior chambers. When the Sun rises, the chamber is flooded with sunlight on the Winter Solstice. What Stonehenge is for Alban Hefin (The Druid festival for The Summer Solstice), Newgrange is for Alban Arthan.

The Feast of Juul

Yule logs burning in a fireplace.

This was a festival observed in Scandinavia when fires were lit to symbolize the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning Sun. A Yule—or Juul—log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god, Thor. It was Thor’s job to bring the Sun’s warmth back to the people. The log, which was never allowed to burn entirely, was kept as both a token of good luck against misfortune and used as kindling for the following year’s log. In England, Germany, France, and other European countries, the Yule log was burned until nothing but ash remained.

The ashes were then collected and spread into the fields as fertilizer every night until Twelfth Night, or worn around the neck as a charm. French peasants would place the cooled ashes from the log under their beds, believing they would protect the house against thunder and lightning. The present-day custom of lighting a Yule log at Christmas is believed to have originated with these fires associated with the Feast of Juul.

Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival

In addition to the traditions from western cultures, the Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival is celebrated as a time for the entire family to get together to celebrate the past good year. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular, positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated. Dumplings are usually eaten.

Saturnalia

Black and white painting of a group of men celebrating Saturnalia in Rome.

In Ancient Rome, the Winter Solstice festival referred to as Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted for seven days. It was held to honor Saturnus, the Roman god of agriculture and harvest, and was characterized by the suspension of discipline and reversal of the usual order. Grudges and quarrels were forgiven, wars were postponed, and people engaged in carnival-like festivities. The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the third and fourth centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, some of the festival’s customs have influenced our current celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.

Longest Shadow Of The Year

Shadow of several figures taking pictures of the snow.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, check your noontime shadow around the time of the solstice: It will be your longest noontime shadow of the year. Conversely, in June, at the time of the summer solstice, you’ll see your shortest noontime shadow. This is because the Sun is at different angles. The Sun’s low arc across the sky in winter causes objects to cast longer shadows.

Join The Discussion

How do you plan to the first day of winter 2024?

Do you have any special winter solstice traditions?

Share with your community here in the comments section below!

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Tara

It is also worth mentioning the Yalda night. In Iran, people have been celebrating the winter solstice for a thousand years and they call it Yalda. It is a beautiful tradition and celebrates the longest night and the birth of the sun at the end of the night (because the days get longer after this night).

Heather

Thank you for sharing this! We find it interesting to learn about how these events are celebrated in different (but so very similar) ways across the globe.

JohanF

Indeed it is a Wednesday in my calendar

joaquinH

These CLOWNS have drawn the Tropic of Cancer & Capricorn in the WRONG PLACE! 23.5 degrees is much further south, e.g. further than the southern tip of Florida and cuts through the tip of Baja California

J Reichert

I would guess it is just a reference point (arrow) for both.

KatlJ

It’s not the lines that are wrong. It’s the whole underlying map. It is shifted to the south. It shows the equator running through Central America and the southern tip of South America looks to be about to the South Pole.

Sunflower

Honestly when that date was decided or the dates for the winter solstice which version of the universe where they going with geocentric or heliocentric? It’s a little vague of a question because it’s still a lot of unanswered facts

JohanF

Looks like the same with the equator and tropic of capricorn, all moved up. Maybe time to redo the globe – but the idea is explained anyway. Luckily the sunshine is reftacted in the atmosphere so it is not always pitch black at the poles in the polar nights.

DAPHNE H TAI

Chinese people eat sticky rice balls, not dumplings on this day.

Trucking Lines

Dumpling in the North, Sticky Rice Ball in the South.

Josiah

But never “shweatty balls” (Ala SNL skit) ?✌️

Karen

lol EXACTLY

Roger Cain

I can’t visualize when winter solstice will be for OUR location. It says 10:59 EST. So will that an hour LATER at 11:59 AM CST. If so, we will have sunrise at 7:59 and sunset at 3:59 PM, which is kind of hard to think about. Can you clear that up for me?

ALEXIS W JONES

The Solstice is a moment in time. It happens the same time instant all over the world. It will happen when your clocks in Central Time read 09:59 AM on the day of. The time of Sunrise and Sunset will depend on your latitude and longitude. You can look that up in the Almanac.

Roger Cain

Thank you,THAT helped. It also helps to VISUALIZE the Rand McNally world globe from school in the 1960s. I loved turning the GLOBE and watch the sunlight as it was dark and light. I could turn the BASE to mimic the seasons where I lived. What I was missing was the idea that the whole earth was in a specific location in its elliptical ORBIT of the sun.

Roger Cain

I forgot to mention, I read an article that sunrise and sunset are SKEWED by the 23.5° tilt of earth and latitude. Earliest SUNSET was December 7. Day and night are EQUIDISTANT from noon only during the equinoxes spring and autumn.

All of the stats are interesting as a way to understand the WHAT of the cosmos. The how and why are an even BIGGER challenge to discuss. We are endlessly ENTERTAINED.

I wanted to correct previous errors, but can’t seem to find EDIT on here.

Thank you, again.

edward

noice

Louis

We can look forward to the days getting longer now but this Dreadful day has passed

Ciara B

You can view a livestream at Newgrange here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8anbIH-XfPU ?

Saul Mader

Spectacular that’s my birthday!!! I most certainly appreciate how Christmas has been explained in as an amalgamation of all cultures celebrations combined…similar to us Americans not having a true American language.

Mary

It’s my birthday, too

tom lehman

Just briefly on the language- Yes! Even though English was ‘originally’ a Germanic language, now, only about 29% of its entire vocabulary is Germanic; 24% is from Latin or the more recently derived Romance languages (i.e. French and Spanish); about 11% is from Greek, about 4% is from Hebrew/Aramaic/Arabic, etc. Middle Eastern tongues (i.e. Bible). The rest are words incorporated since the Age of Exploration, such as ‘papoose’, ‘chocolate’, ‘candy’, ‘bungalow’, ‘kangaroo’, and even ‘tea’!

Gene

The sun reaches his home. This year binary. Symbolizing renewing the world.

Sarah Chappell

Good article. A great breakdown of the various pagan traditions, who celebrated them and how they celebrated them. Good Yule and Merry Solstice!

Virginia Cua

I am from the Philippines. Part of Asia. Can I know when is the winter soltice for Asia? I also like to ask if performing the ritual for Winter Soltice, how long will it takes to do the ritual?

Susan Higgins

Hi Virginia, the Winter solstice 2020 for the Philippines will be at 6:02 PM on Monday, December 21st.

Albert Riefstahl

Actually it will be 11:59 pm in the Philippines. The Philippines is 13 hrs ahead of US EST.

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